NL GAME OF THE DAY

Astros spoil Cardinals' party

St. Louis fails to clinch NL Central.

HOUSTON — Bud Norris and the Houston Astros put the St. Louis Cardinals' celebration on ice.

The Astros' 24-year-old rookie shut out the Cardinals for the second time and St. Louis missed a chance to capture the NL Central in a 3-0 loss to the Astros on Wednesday night.

The magic number for St. Louis dropped to one when the Cubs lost in Milwaukee before this game ended. But Norris (6-3) pitched six shutout innings and Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless ninth for his 28th save.